Code of practice to boost user safety launched for apps

  • The UK Government have announced a new voluntary code of practice for app store operators and developers that will ask them to boost privacy and security to better protect users.
  • The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have said that the new measures for app store operators will include requirements for a reporting process for users to flag issues and ensure security updates and measures are highlighted
  • They have said they would work with big tech companies such as Google and Apple to aid the implementation of the code over nine months.
  • For more on this story, please visit the Standard’s and UK Government website.

Single-sex girl schools lead league tables and give better mental health support

  • New research by the Sunday Times Parent Power rankings have shown that both private and state single-sex girl schools are at the top of academic league tables.
  • It has found that girls in the UK’s leading single-sex schools appear to have coped better with the Covid pandemic than boys-only or co-educational schools.
  • Many girls-only schools have been found to be setting up wellbeing centres, where girls can gain access to counselling and psychological support.
  • For more on this story, please visit the Belfast Telegraph’s website.

Children stopped sleeping and eating to play Fortnite- Lawsuit

  • A Canadian judge has approved a lawsuit brought by three parents who say their children became addicted to Fortnite.
  • The plaintiffs have said that their children would not sleep, eat, or shower because of their addiction.
  • The World Health Organisation recognised video-game addiction in 2018, however Epic Games has argued that video-game addiction is not a recognised psychological disorder.
  • One of the children reportedly played over 7,700 hours of the game in less than two years.
  • For more on this story, please visit the BBC News website.

Paediatrician says Strep A cases could level off within weeks

  • Leading paediatrician, Dr Ray Nethercott has stated that cases of Strep A in Northern Ireland are expected to level off within weeks.
  • On Wednesday, 227 children attended the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, although it is unclear as to how many had Strep A.
  • Nethercott has said that it’s “really difficult to be precise” but he would be expecting that we will see this infection settle over the space of another few weeks.
  • For more on this story, please visit the BBC News website.